Field of Invention
The subject matter described herein is in the field of railcar and barge seals and related methods. More specifically, said subject matter is in the field of covered hopper car and barge seals and related methods.
Background of the Invention
A covered hopper car is a railcar with at least one load bay defined by a cover, sidewalls, and a four-way tapered or funnel-like floor with a spout. Usually, covered hopper cars are suitable for transporting loose and dry bulk commodities, like grain, because the (1) the roof protects the commodities from weather; and (2) the commodities may be easily unloaded from the hopper car via opening the spout at the deepest point of the floor so that the commodity may flow therethrough via gravity or vacuum. Loading hopper cars is accomplished by dumping, e.g., via a grain conveyor, the loose bulk commodities through a hatch in the roof (a hatch can be defined by either a man-hole sized opening or a narrow opening along the center of the roof).
In the U.S., the load of a hopper car, e.g. grains, rice or corn, must be fumigated during transportation per regulations of the USDA. USDA regulations further require that the hatches of fumigated hopper cars be sealed. Until now, a common seal has been a large piece of plastic that is applied to the rim and sides of a hopper car hatch. Problems arise when applying the plastic seal to the hatch because, for such seals, (a) the USDA regulations require that the plastic be applied to the hatch via an adhesive, usually provided via spray or tape, and (b) use of an adhesive in this manner requires pre-cleaning of the rim and multiple laborers to install the seal (e.g., one for applying the adhesive and one for applying the plastic seal) and can result in inadvertent contamination of the hopper car load with the adhesive. Furthermore, many adhesives leave a residue on the hopper car hatch after removal of the seal and said residue can result in erosion of hopper car paint, damage to rubber gaskets on the cover, or require excessive and expensive cleaning regimens. Thus, a need exists for an easy to install seal for hopper car hatches which does not risk contamination of the hopper load, damage the hopper car, or require excessive cleaning.